Needing sustenance, our lunch was at a non-descript carinderia along Quirino Highway in Paranaque called Gracia's. The food was exceptionally cheap and very tasty. I opted to order cantina style as I couldn't wait for them to cook my tapsilog. I ordered a bowl of monggo guisado (mung bean soup) and okoy na alamang (shrimp fry fritters). The combination was perfect! The fritter was really fresh and one could taste the briny shrimp that was crunchy and savory. The soup was hearty and thick. All that with a cup of rice an a small bottle of soda set me back around seventy pesos. Not bad at all!
We then motored to
St. Andrew Church which wasn't too far. The church of St. Andrew is one of the oldest churches in Manila dating back to
11 May, 1580. Established in an area known then as Palanyag ( a derivative of the Filipino term Paglalayag meaning to set sail). It was a small fishing village of a few houses which were clumped along the Paranaque river and Manila Bay. Agustinian priest
Fr, Juan de Orto was tasked with spreading the word of God in the area which he started doing around
1578. By
1580, they community had become a visita where
Fr. Diego de Espinal had built a mission house and appointed as its superior. Being a fishing village, the community was dedicated to
St. Andrew who was the patron of fishermen. The parish thrived under the
Patronato Real in which
King Felipe II provided 200 pesos and 200 bushels of rice to the religious in the area periodically because the mission had no funds. By
August 10, 1625 the shrine to honor the
Nstra. Sra, del Buen Suceso. The Chinese Pirate
Koxinga threatened to invade Manila in
1625.
Gov. Manrique de Lara had all the churches outside Manila demolished in order to fortify the city.
St. Andrew was not spared. In
1762, when the British conquered Manila,
Fr. Eusebio Polo and Fr. Manuel de Sto. Tomas Garcia were exiled in
Goa, India..Eventually, the church was rebuilt and declared a shrine. Some of the visitas in and around the area like
Sta. Monica and
San Dionisio are built facing the Cathedral.
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| St. Andrew Cathedral |
The next site we visited was the
St. Joseph Church. Arguably, the most photographed church during the Christmas season,
St. Joseph is also the home of the world famous
Bamboo Organ. Built under the initiative of
Fr. Diego Cera, O.S.A, the church is done in the
Philippine earthquake baroque style from
1797 - 1819. The adjacent convent, now a museum, is done in the manner of a
Spanish Antillan house. Damaged by strong earthquakes in
1828 and
1863, and wars from the
British invasion and the
Japanese occupation, the church was restored and structurally reinforced to its present condition. The church gets a lot of attention for its historic, aesthetic, cultural contributions. It is virtually impossible to talk about the St. Joseph church without at least viewing the
Bamboo Organ.
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| St. Joseph Church |
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| The Bamboo Organ |
On our afternoon visit, our guide brought us into the church to listen to the pure tones that it produces.
Fr. Diego Cera built the organ from
1816-1824. The organ has
1,031 pieces,
902 of which are bamboo pipes. It was destroyed in the earthquake oh
1828 and laid unused until
1917. In
1972 ,
Johannes Klais Orgelbau won a contract to restore the organ in
Bonn, Germany and by
1975, the organ restoration was completed and the
Bamboo Organ Festival was celebrated since. That merited a trip up to the choir loft to view the organ's inner mechanisms that ingeniously have been partially encased in glass so one can see how it operates. A go-see of the museum revealed that the cost of restoration during the 1970s at approximately P1.5M. It was money well spent, if you ask me.
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Bamboo Organ pipes
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| Bhel Asinas touring us around her high school campus |
Tita Bhel Asinas took us on a sentimental tour of her high school,
St. James. We were allowed into the campus to see the still existing
Spanish era conventos and campus plus the "improvements" made that included new school buildings and gym that brought back many funny stories to tell. Then we were off to
Sarao Motors to see how the iconic mode of transport -
the Jeepney is constructed. It also offered us a glimpse of history since the time the jeeps were conceptualized and produced to its evolution up to the present. I am of an age when the jeepney fare for kids was ten centavos. The regular fare at the moment is nine pesos... that's inflation for you, folks! From war transport, our beloved jeeps are now subject to high technology. E-jeepneys are now in vogue as a concession to environment friendly practices.
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| Ness Sembrero and Piolo Panaligan at the Sarao Jeepney factory |
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| San Exequiel Moreno Church |
Finally, we visited
San Exequiel Moreno Church on the outskirts of
Las Pinas along the C5 route.
San Exequiel was born in
Alfaro, La Rioja, Spain on the 9th of April, 1898. Twenty years later, on
September 22, 1868 he took his vows in Navarra, Spain. By the
10th of February, 1848 San Exequiel Moreno was sent to
Intramuros,
Manila where he stayed at the
San Nicolas convent, a.k.a
Recoletos. By mid
1870 he was sent off to
Jaro, Iloilo. He was also sent off to
Palawan , Mindoro and
Las Pinas His religious zeal and love for the poor are traits endeared him to his parishioners. He stood by their sickbed to minister to them and shared personal funds to provide for their needs in times of calamity. As proof of fact, the parishioners petitioned for his continued stay in Las Pinas when they learned he was to be assigned to
Sto. Tomas, Batangas. He was also assigned to the parish in
Sta. Cruz, Manila and
Imus, Cavite. Subsequent postings merited petitions for the suspension of his transfer, but
St. Exequiel Moreno always obeyed the orders of his superiors. This paved the way for his return to
Spain and then he was assigned to
Colombia. In
mid 1905, he was diagnosed with
cancer of the palate and retired to spend his days in
Monteagudo, Spain. On
August 19, 1906, San Exequiel Moreno succumbed to his illness. His remains were exhumed in
1915 and
1975 and found to be incorrupt. The church dedicated to him is spanking new, reminiscent of Neo Romanesque design on a massive scale. Everything was an obvious match to the new development in the area. I particularly liked the
relic of St. Exequiel Moreno displayed near the left transept of the altar. I'd give it a few more years to display more character. I even climbed up the choir loft to view the shiny pipe organ that's a definite feature of the church.
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| San Exequiel Moreno relic |
By sundown all of us had boarded our way to the vans headed for Manila. That was epic!
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